Get the Look: Artist Christopher Florentino’s Pop-Inflected Midcentury Home
Known as Flore, accomplished street artist Christopher Florentino was born in Brooklyn and now resides in Miami, but arguably his most storied home is in the suburb of Winter Haven, Florida.
Built by architect Gene Leedy, the art-filled midcentury residence is also a place of inspiration for the young artist. "I’m using this house as a place to study," he says. "I’m studying the architecture, studying the living." Build your own midcentury refuge by incorporating pieces like the ones below.
Artist Christopher Florentino says his respect for Gene Leedy drove his update of the architect’s 1963 Ellison Residence in central Florida: "Being original is important to me. I don’t want Gene Leedy to come here and be like, ‘Damn, you killed my vision.’" In the living room, George Nelson’s Saucer Bubble pendant hovers over Eames classics, like an LCW chair, a Molded Fiberglass armchair, and a Molded Plywood coffee table. Christopher found the lounge, an Eames replica, in a dumpster and couldn’t let it go to waste. A Warhol print hangs from the sandstone block wall; the Ekko mobile is by Matthew Richards.
An Eames lounge chair covered in Alexander Girard fabric from Maharam sits near a Girard Model 108 coffee table for Knoll.
DCM Molded Plywood chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller sit around a dining table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.
Primary colors and bold art dominate the home's decor. "The yellow and green Warhol flowers—that's my favorite Warhol. My last name means flowers in Italian. So I just l love flowers," says Florentino.
The 1946 Womb Chair by Eero Saarinen by Knoll was reupholstered in Knoll Boucle Orange.
A big screen television is the only piece of 21st-century furniture found in the homage to midcentury that Florentino has assembled in his home.
When Christopher spotted a limited-edition polka-dot version of George Nelson’s 1956 sofa on Craigslist, he called the seller and offered her $1,000 on the spot. "She said, ‘If you can be here in fifteen minutes, it’s yours,’" he recalls. Apparently, she was really ready to get rid of it. "As soon as I got there, she pushed it down the stairs," he says. He had it reupholstered in Alexander Girard’s "Double Triangles" fabric, which, at $1,400 for the total yardage, cost more than the sofa itself.
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